New Beginnings
by seaweedfma
Summary: This was a series originally done for the Live Journal group 55 Themes. The group is now defunct and the series has been abandoned, so I the status is set as completed. Roy x Maes pairing, set in thier academy days. Rated PG overall. No series spoilers.
1. The New Roommate

Author: SeaweedOtter  
Title: The New Roommate (New Beginnings- Chapter 1)  
Theme & #: #17- First Encounters  
Genres: Humor  
Warnings: None, just a Roy/Maes academy fic!  
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes (eventual pairing)  
Rating: G  
Summary: First meetings are always a bit awkward...

**

Roy Mustang was glad that he never got into the bad habit of becoming a packrat. Material possessions were never terribly important to him, and that came in handy when it came time to move into the dorm rooms at the military academy.

He didn't have any friends or family to help him move, so his life was pretty much whatever he could pack into the tiny car that he had scrimped and saved while working the last three summers.

On his first trip up to the room, it had been empty. Apparently he beat his roommate in, which meant that he had first crack at the beds. He chose the one furthest away from the eastwardly facing window, not wanting the rising sun to wake him up any earlier than he had to.

"Why did I have to start in the middle of the summer?" he grunted, huffing and puffing up the three floors to his dorm room. He was on his last load of possessions, finally. It had taken several hours to move everything- since he had to take breaks to keep from overheating, and he was dripping with sweat and thoroughly exhausted.

He opened the door, only to find a huge, grinning man studying the beds, a hand on his chin. He didn't even turn around when he heard the door open. "You think we can move this bed? It doesn't look too heavy. I really don't want to be woken up the sun rises."

'Well, you should have gotten here earlier then.' Roy thought, but he bit his tongue. He didn't want to make a bad first impression with the person that he would be spending the next 4 years with.

"Um, I'm not sure." Roy said, honestly. He walked over to his bed and plopped down the last of his stuff, then sat on the edge of the bed with a long sigh, wiping the sweat off of his brow with the back of his hand. "Whew. Glad that is over."

The man who Roy assumed was his roommate finally turned around, so the young alchemist could get a good look at him. He was at least 3 inches taller, with similarly black hair and unusual citrine colored eyes, a shade he had never seen before. He wore small rectangular glasses on his long nose, and similarly to Roy, he seemed to be clean shaven.

"Oh good, then you can help me!" The goofy grin spread all across his roommate's face. He walked over and offered Roy his hand. "Oh, by the way, my name is Maes. Maes Hughes. Nice to meet you!"

Roy took the hand tentatively, giving it a little shake. "Roy Mustang, alchemist."

To Roy's surprise, Maes didn't shrink away or mumble anything under his breath. He was used to alchemists being treated with fear and often hatred, mostly by people who were jealous of their own lack of alchemic skill.

"Ah, I have never met one of you guys before. Pretty fascinating, that alchemy stuff. I don't understand it myself. Never cared to try. I am shooting for either Forensics or Investigations, myself." He finally broke the long handshake.

"So, you gonna help me move? I think I have more stuff than you, but with two of us it shouldn't take long!" he glanced out the window. "It's getting late. I don't want to have to go up those stairs in the dark with my arms full of breakables! Come on!"

Roy groaned and got up from the bed, his already aching muscles complaining at the sudden movement. He knew he should say no, and let him move it himself, but something about that guy just made it so hard to refuse him. He couldn't put his finger on why.

"Alright. I'm coming."

By the time they were done, the sun had indeed set, and they had been able to drag over the deceptively light looking (but actually very heavy) metal framed bunk to the wall opposite Roy's bed- away from the window and the sun.

Roy collapsed on his bed for the second time that day. He was determined that nothing was going to make him move this time. He only bothered to take off his shoes before he curled up on top of the sheets he had already put on the bed. It was too hot to sleep under them. Even though the sun was down, the cinderblock walls were good at keeping in the heat, and Roy felt like he was sweltering.

But a quick look over to his new roommate showed that he didn't seem to mind this at all.

"Aren't you hot?" Roy asked, interrupting Maes as he was making his own bed.

"Nah. I'm from the east, not too far from the desert. I grew up in heat much worse than this. This is spring weather to me!" He grinned at the alchemist, then turned back around to finish what he was doing.

'What a goof.' Roy thought. I wonder if there is anything that will make that guy not smile.

As soon as Maes was done with his bed, he walked over to Roy's bunk and sat down on the edge. "So, where are we going out tonight? This is the first time I have ever been to Central, and I am sure there are all sorts of fun places to go!"

Roy sat up, a sour look on his face. "Why do you think *I* know where to go? This is my first time here as well."

Maes looked rather surprised. "Oh. Well you don't look like you are from the city. In fact, come to think of it, you don't look like you are from around here at all, with your dark hair and dark eyes. Where *are* you from, anyways?"

The alchemist laid back down and rolled over, away from his roommate. "East." Maes waited for him to elaborate, but he never did. He shrugged his shoulders and got up from the bed and walked back towards his bunk.

"Oh well. Never mind then. I guess we can try another day. It should be a big day tomorrow. I'm gonna turn in early. Good night, Roy Mustang, Alchemist!"

"Night." Roy grumbled, turning in his bed to try to get comfortable on the unfamiliar and lumpy mattress. He groaned. This was definitely going to be an interesting school year, with an even more interesting roommate.


	2. Rituals

Author: SeaweedOtter  
Title: Bedtime (New Beginnings- Chapter 2)  
Theme & #: #34- Rituals  
Genres: Humor  
Warnings: None, just a Roy/Maes academy fic!  
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes (eventual pairing)  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Roy had always had various rituals that he did throughout the day, until his roommate messed it all up.

**

The first night that he had spent in his dorm room was- unusual to say the least. Besides the fact that he was in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar person, his whole routine had been broken up.

He was a man who had always thrived on routines, getting up at the same time, doing the same things in the same order to get ready for the day, then going through a similar routine to end the day before he went to bed. He was afraid that the academy was going to change that somewhat, but there was another factor that would change it even more that he hadn't been aware of.

His roommate, Maes Hughes.

His first full day at the academy started fairly familiarly. He was the first one to wake up, so he wrapped a towel low around his hips- over his loose t-shirt and boxers, grabbed his shower kit, and headed for the bathroom.

What he hadn't realized what that they shared a bathroom with the two people in the room next to them.

Thankfully, the room was already steamy and the shower curtain was opaque, so he didn't see anything. He just quickly and quietly apologized and went back to his room, shaking.

"You alright there, buddy?" Roy yelped at the noise and dropped his shower kit, almost dropping his towel as well.

"Uh, yeah. I just didn't realize that.. er.. other used the shower too."

Maes yawned and stretched, sitting up in bed. He had no shirt on, and Roy quickly found an excuse to turn a different direction so he wouldn't have to see his shirtless roommate. He already felt uncomfortable enough almost seeing another man naked in the shower. The last thing that he wanted to see at the moment was his half-naked roommate.

"Yeah, at least it's only 4 to a bathroom here. I heard that some of the older dorms that other freshmen are subjected to only have one big communal bathroom at the end of each hallway. Too much naked flesh for me." Despite the comment at the end, Maes seemed to take the idea with much less revulsion that he did, judging by his tone of voice. Roy shrugged it off, not really caring to think more about that idea.

"Well, I need to get in the shower. They better not take all day." Roy grumbled, pulling off his towel and quickly putting on a pair of old sweatpants. Maes may be his roommate, but he still didn't feel right walking around in his boxers.

"I take pretty quick showers anyways. I don't care if I go last." Maes shrugged and stood up, stretching fully and walking over to the little sink in the part of the room that was supposed to be a kitchen, but fell way short. There was only a sink, a few drawers, and a tiny icebox that couldn't fit more than one or two items in it. He splashed water on his face, dried himself off, and put on his glasses, pushing them up on his nose.

"I hope you don't think badly of me about yesterday. I didn't mean to force you to help me move if you really were that tired. You could have just said no. I get that all the time. Mostly from girls."

Roy remembered for a second about that offhanded comment the man had made a few minutes earlier. 'This man is just more and more confusing.' He thought. "Oh it's alright. I hated to say no. I thought you might think I was a jerk or something. It wasn't bad, really."

"Well, are you?"

Roy looked at him, confused. "Am I what?"

"A jerk."

He thought for a second. No one had ever asked his own opinion about that. "Well some people think alchemists in general are arrogant jerks, so I have been called one, but no, I don't think I ever considered myself one. But then again, I think I am biased. I may not be the right person to ask."

Maes broke out in a big smile. He walked over and clapped his roommate on the back. "Just what I wanted to hear. You are aware that you are too close to the situation to make a non-biased judgment. A true jerk would have just said no and let that be the end of it. Therefore, I have to conclude that you, Roy, are not a jerk."

Roy rolled his eyes and smiled, jerking forward a little from Maes' back slap. 'He is strong. I have to make sure I don't pick a fight with him, at least not without my gloves." He thought to himself. "Well, that is good to hear I guess. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with you, since we will be seeing each other for quite a while."

"True." Maes replied walking back to his bunk and sitting down with a creak of the springs. "I always strive to make friends, not enemies. I hope we can be friends, Roy."

Roy shrugged and stood up. "I don't see why we couldn't." He smiled. "But I heard the water stop. I am gonna head in there before the other person steals it. That one shower was long enough. Who knows how long the other guy would be?"

"Okay, have fun." Maes called as Roy knocked on the door, then walked in. Roy shot Maes a weird look, then closed the door behind him. "What an odd thing to say." he mumbled. But he shrugged it off and locked the bathroom doors, so there wouldn't be a repeat of what he did, and stripped, turned on the water until it was almost unbearably warm, and stepped in.

"Ahhh." His shoulders relaxed as the hot water cascaded over him. This was his favorite part of his normal morning ritual. He wasn't sure why, but ever since he was a kid he loved taking very hot showers. It relaxed him and his troubles seem to bleed away down the drain while he was there.

Usually, he would try to take as long of a shower as he could, until the hot water was almost all used up. He knew that would have to change at school, but what he lacked in quantity, he made up for in quality, making the most of every minute that he had.

A loud pounding on the door from the other bedroom took him out of his almost hypnotic state. He quickly finished washing himself and turned the water off. He got dressed as fast as he could and unlocked the doors, then headed back for his room.

"Feel better?" Maes asked as soon as he closed the door behind him.

"Yeah, not too bad. Sorry you missed it, the other guy was knocking, trying to get me out of there I guess."

"Not a problem. I will get in, in a bit.

"Okay." Roy walked over to his bed and sat down, toweling his hair, trying to keep to as much of the tattered remains of his morning routine as he could.


	3. The Joker

Author: SeaweedOtter  
Title: The Joker (New Beginnings- Chapter 3)  
Theme & #: #53- Mischief and #54- Wild  
Genres: Humor  
Warnings: None, just a Roy/Maes academy fic!  
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes (eventual pairing)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Having a prankster as a roommate makes one automatcially guilty by association.

**

It didn't take long after they became roommates for Maes' gregarious nature to truly show through. The pranks started out small at first, the top of the salt would come loose, and Roy thought that maybe he just forgot to screw it back well enough when he refilled it. Or the toilet paper would be mysteriously off the roll, and he figured the two people that they shared the bathroom with either didn't replace it, or took it for some other reason.

But as smart as Roy was, it didn't take him long to figure out that he was roommates with a prankster, and a particularly skilled one at that. He tried talked to Maes once, telling him that he really wasn't the type to enjoy pranks being pulled on him. That stopped the man.

For about a week.

Then it started up again, just as badly as before. As much as pranks were not Roy's forte, he only had to think up a couple to play on Maes to make the man understand that the alchemist would not be the butt of his jokes any more- including one particularly nasty joke that Roy played on his roommate that caused him to singe his eyebrows and the front of his hair pretty badly.

It only took a couple of days worth of pointing and taunts for Maes to realize that dealing with an alchemist who specializes in fire may be an extrordinarily bad idea. He knew that he had gotten off easy with as little hair as he had lost. Maes was very well aware that it could have been so much worse.

From then on, Roy had Maes' respect, and the pranks pulled were all on other people. Of course, that added quite a level of danger. Maes knew where he stood when he pranked his roommate or their bathroom mates, but pranking people he hardly knew would garner an unknown repsonse. Maybe they would laugh about it and be good natured, or they might try to do worse than just burn the hair off of his face.

As the first semester drug onwards, Maes started out with small pranks on the general public instead of one particular person, as he made friends and branched out- testing the waters to find people that would enjoy and appreciate his unique type of humor.

Some of his favorites were flooding the bathrooms in the academic buildings. He had even met one girl who was willing to be an accomplice and flood the girl's bathroom as well. Maes figured that if both bathrooms flooded, it was harder to determine who did it.

And indeed, they never caught the bathroom flooders.

Much to Roy's dismay, the longer that his roommate went without being caught, the more brazen and complicated his schemes got. Roy wanted to turn him in, get him in a little trouble and take some of the wind out of his sails, but by the time he almost got up the nerve to do it, Maes was planning the *BIG* one. The alchemist knew that if he caught doing that, most likely he would be expelled.

So, like any good roommate, and friend, he grin and beared it, fighting back the better part of his brain that told him that it was a terribly bad idea to do this and helped Maes with his rather intricate plan.

It was easy to put the first part of the plan in motion. There was one particular professor that nobody liked. He had been the victim of many small, fairly harmless pranks over the years, but Maes had an idea for something on a more grand scale.

They waited until the weekend, when he left his small campus home to visit his family. It was easy to gather manure from the garden shed of the botany department of the school. Maes enlisted the help of various friends in a wide circle around the house. They looked like they were just ambling about, perhaps walking to class, but in fact they were spies, to make sure that they wouldn't be spotted.

Roy and Maes spread the manure on the professor's lawn, spelling out "Dr. Hibbert Sucks" in 3 foot tall letters, then Roy put on his alchemic glove and snapped, setting the manure on fire, just long enough to let the letters burn into the grass, careful to make sure there was not too much smoke to give away what was being done.

It worked like a charm.

That night, another one of their accomplices, who knew where he could get alcohol where they didn't check for ID's, sat with the boys in their room, drinking beers and recalling some of the other pranks that the three of them had pulled off so far that semester.

"It is so simple, but one of the classics. One of my favorites is always the stink bomb when we gather for assembly. Unless someone actually sees you drop it, it is impossible to get caught, with so many people in such a small space!" Maes beamed, taking a swig of the amber liquid. He sputters, coughing most of it back up. "Man, this stuff tastes awful. You sure it is worth it?"

Roy smiled and drank his beer with the practiced ease of someone who had had alcohol before. "This is your first beer, isn't it, Maes?"

"Yeah, but it is worth it. We need to celebrate. To friendship, and someone who will spread the manure of truth with you!" Maes' speech was already slurring a little, even after only half a bottle.

"To friendship." They all clinked their bottles together and took a big swig- laughing when, once again, Maes choked on the beer and more of it ended back up on his shirt than down his gullet.

And at the same time as they were celebrating their victory, all the way across campus, a professor was calling the police after coming back to school early and finding his lawn vandalized, and reeking of crap.


	4. Infatuation

Author: SeaweedOtter  
Title: Infatuation (New Beginnings- Chapter 4)  
Theme & #: #11- Infatuation  
Genres: Romance (?)  
Warnings: None, just a Roy/Maes academy fic!  
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes (eventual pairing)  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Maes wondered, was this more than friendship?

**

The first semester drug on for both of the roommates. Roy was starting to hit his stride when it came to girls. It seemed to Maes that he had a different girl coming home with him every weekend, and sometimes during the week as well. But as far as he could tell, the alchemist was still doing well in his work.

How did he do it, he wondered?

Maes was a bright boy, near the top of his class, which made it easy for him to get into the academy. He found that his classes, so far. were really not that tough, and his grades were fine, but he had been rather distracted the entire first semester.

And what was distracting him was what upset him the most.

His roommate, Roy.

By no means was Maes a novice when it came to love. He had had a few lovers back East as he matured into manhood, both male and female. Of course, he had to be very careful with the two male lovers that he had. He knew it was considered wrong by most people's standards to love a person of the same sex as your own. But they had each taught him something that he had found very valuable as he became a young man.

His first lover had not only taught him that it was okay to love who you love- be it a man or a woman, but he also taught Maes about intimacy, how to please someone, and get pleasure from them. That was a skill that his second loved honed to a fine art. Maes, as with most things, was a pretty quick learner, which proved to be a quite valuable skill.

Of course, all of that meant nothing if the person that you liked didn't like you back, and Maes had no idea at all how Roy felt about him.

They were good friends, sure. It hadn't taken long for Maes' outgoing and humorous nature to break the rather thick, serious outer shell that Roy usually wore on his skin. Being around him every day, Maes saw the nice, caring man that was inside that outer layer of aloofness and standoffness that he showed everyone else.

But the alchemist had never shown any inclinations of interest in anyone other that the bevy of girls that he seemed to bring home. It seemed in that case, Roy had him beat pretty well. He had only been a few girls, and even though he had been able to go 'all the way' with one of them, it just didn't feel as nice as when he had been with his male lovers.

There was always the chance, that like Maes, he was just afraid to say anything because of the stigma that was attached to having a same-sex lover. He had seen the violence it could cause first hand, when one of his lovers and the other man were almost beaten to death as they were seen holding hands. Maes guessed that it was fate that he had been cheating on him with that other person, or else it would have been him who had been almost killed.

Still, that had been enough for him to swear off men.

At least, until Roy came into the picture.

He would never admit it to Roy, but when he had walked into the room, Maes was immediately smitten with how handsome the almost foreign looking man was. He avoided eye contact as much as he could that first day because he was deathly afraid that if he looked for too long at the alchemist his body would betray him and show his true feelings.

Maes had already been at the end of a snap of the man's fingers once, and it only cost him a little hair from his eyebrows and forehead. If Roy wasn't interested, and he admitted his feelings, he shivered to think what a full blast of that alchemy would do.

So he continued to say nothing as the end of their first semester started to loom in front of them. Maes knew that he really had to buckle down and start studying, but this distraction was driving him crazy, and living with him, there was nothing he could do about it.

As they had started to get closer as friends, they grew more comfortable with each other. It got to the point where Roy was fine with wearing nothing more than a towel low around those thin hips of his when he was going to take a shower.

Maes would always find some way or another to distract himself and not look, reading a book or looking out the window at some bird that may or may not have been flying by right at that time. He would always have to cross his legs, or make sure that he was sitting at the table, because it never failed that even just a quick look at that lean, sinuous body made Maes start to feel rather.. uncomfortable.

He kept telling himself 'How will you know unless you ask him? Just bring it up in some conversation, all casual like, and if he doesn't respond positively, then you can just say that you were joking around. He will drop it, and then you will know for sure.' But that was much easier said than done, he knew.

Maes sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes before putting them back on and pressing the glasses back up his nose. He had been starting at the same page of his book on the Amestris Government for over half an hour now. He glanced over to Roy, who had already turned in for the night. He must had been tired after his latest date, Maes guessed. He had been sweaty and his neck had red marks on it when he had walked in.

"Okay, that's it. I'm talking to him before the semester ends." He said, determination in his voice.

"Hmm... wha?" a sleepy Roy answered from his bed, rolling over to face Maes. His eyes were partially open, but he didn't look like he was actually awake.

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Nothing. Go back to sleep, Roy." That was all the alchemist needed to hear. He rolled back over to the other side, his eyes closing immediately.


	5. Library

Author: SeaweedOtter  
Title: Admissions (New Beginnings- Chapter 5)  
Theme & #: #21- Library and #13- True Love  
Genres: Romance  
Warnings: None, just a Roy/Maes academy fic!  
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes (finally getting to the pairing!)  
Rating: PG  
Summary: How would Maes break the news? How would Roy take it?

**

Maes had been spending most of his time the last week before the end of the semester in the library. It was quiet, which helped him study, but it also got him away from his roommate- who was, by no fault of his own, very distracting.

Unfortunately, even when he wasn't close to the alchemist, he couldn't stop thinking about him.

He had told himself that he was going to talk to Roy about it before the end of the semester, and now they were both so busy with studying for exams that he didn't think that he would get a chance.

The chance came on one Friday. Maes was, as usual, in the library. For whatever reason, Roy had decided to come in, and he of course honed in on the table that his roommate was using.

"Hey, Maes!" Roy said, slapping his friend on the shoulder. Had Maes been actually reading and not distracted with thinking about the man who just showed up, he may have been upset at losing his place, but as it was, he put the book down, glad to have a break from attempting to study.

"Hey there, Roy. Don't usually see you in this neck of the woods. What brings you to this fine establishment?"

Roy smirked and shook his head. "I do know what a library is. I just prefer to study alone usually. Anyways, I just needed a book." He looked Maes over. "Man, you look beat. Let's go get some food."

Against his better judgment, Maes found himself saying "Okay."

A short time later, Roy had his book, and they were carried their noodle dinners back to their dorm room. Maes couldn't help but smile as Roy eagerly slurped up his noodles with an ease that he hadn't seen anyone else have with those confounded chopsticks. He himself had finally resorted to using a fork after trying and failing many times to use the two wooden sticks to pick up his dinner.

"How are you do good at that?" Maes had to ask, as they were finishing their meal.

"Well, let's just say it runs in the family."

"Huh?"

"Never mind." Roy smiled and changed the subject, slightly. "So, not a fan of the wood, huh?"

Maes' eyes went wide, and he coughed, choking for a moment on the last bit of noodles that had been left on his plate. Roy slapped him on the back a couple of time until the taller man was able to start breathing again. "Um.. what?" he finally asked.

"The wood.. the chopsticks. I guess you haven't had much practice with them?" Roy clarified.

"Oh.. um.. no. Not really. Sorry."

"Maes, are you alright? You've seemed a little.. vacant recently. I know exams are coming up, but you seem much more distracted than usual."

Hey Roy?" Maes finally answered after a short pause.

"Yeah?"

"What if I told you that I know someone who likes you?"

Roy smiled. "Well, I would ask you to get me her phone number! Is it someone I know?"

"Yeah."

"I guess she is in one of your classes and saw you and I hanging out?"

"Not exactly."

Roy's smile dropped a little. "Enough with the childish games. We aren't in high school any more. Who is it?"

"Um.. me."

Roy grinned. "I think I heard you wrong. You said... you?"

"Yeah."

"You know, we are both guys, right?"

"Yeah."

"And usually it is supposed to be a guy going out with a girl."

"Yeah."

"So.. how would that work anyways? I mean two guys.. well, the equipment, it is the same, It wouldn't really work, would it?"

"Yeah, it can work, if you know how." Maes rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "But I get the distinct feeling that you don't feel the same way I do."

"Well, I dunno, honestly. I've never even thought about looking at another guy that way." Roy shrugged and looked intently at Maes for a moment, like he was studying him for the first time. Maes fidgeted nervously, not sure what was coming next.

Roy chuckled and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It sounds like you.. have.. um.. been with a man before?"

"Only two. After the last one broke my heart, I thought I had swore them all off, but I can't deny how I feel for you." He sighed softly. "I am so torn. I know the ultimate dream is to have a wife and kids, and weirdly enough I do want that life somewhere down the line. I kept telling myself to just look at girls once I got here. There are some pretty girls around campus, I admit. But I look at you, and I get all nervous and sweaty. I know what it is I am feeling."

"Oh. Hm. Well, I don't really know what to say. I mean, I know part of me is saying that I shouldn't even be thinking about it. It isn't right." He paused, making Maes even more nervous. "But, I am not nearly as disgusted as I think I should be. I have no idea about.. any of it."

"Well I think the most important thing is how you feel about me." Maes replied. "If you don't see me as any more than a friend, then it really doesn't matter about anything else. Either you like a person, or you don't. It's as simple as that."

"I.. don't know. I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer. You are a good person and a great friend, but beyond that I am not really sure how I feel. I mean, I guess, if I ever were to want to.. experiment with someone.. a guy.. you know.. just hypothetically, it would definitly have to be someone I trusted. And there isn't anyone who knows me as well as you." Roy looked at his feet, nervously.

Maes smiled. He wasn't really getting the response he had been hoping for, but he knew that was a long shot. And he hadn't been burned outright or punched yet, so it could be going a lot worse, but Roy was very unsure, and the last thing that Maes wanted to do was to take advantage of him."

"How about this. Let's go out, to a restaurant. I mean it can't really be a 'date', because you have to be kinda hush hush about this kinda stuff. But let's just see how it goes. And if we just end up falling back into the more familiar friends routine, then no big deal. I'm not gonna force you into anything."

Roy shrugged. "Why not. No pressure, right? And if it gets you less distracted then that is good. I don't want to see you do badly on your exams because of me!"

"So maybe a couple of days after class ends?"

"Sounds good."

"Alright. I am gonna try to steal another couple of hours in the library. I will be back later."

"See ya, Maes."

"Bye, Roy."

Maes couldn't help but whistle a happy tune on his way to the library. Maybe things were really looking up, he hoped.


	6. Adrenalin

Author: SeaweedOtter  
Title: First Date (New Beginnings- Chapter 6)  
Theme & #: #6- Restaurant and #27- Adrenalin  
Genres: Romance  
Warnings: None, just a Roy/Maes academy fic!  
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes (finally getting to the pairing!)  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: There is little more nerve racking than a first date.

**

Both of the young men couldn't have been happier when the semester finally ended. Quite a few of the students went home for the winter break, but neither Maes nor Roy really had much family to go back to, so they were among the small group that stuck around.

It was nice, walking around a mostly deserted campus. Roy and Maes both wore their heavy, woolen, gray overcoats as they walked towards what was considered by many the best restaurant on campus. Their breaths fogged up in the cold, winter air, and the kept their hands shoved in their pockets, keeping as little skin as possible bare to the elements.

"Two please. Something out of the way, if we could, please? we have some important things to discuss." The waiter nodded and took them to a booth in the very back corner of the restaurant. Maes smiled. It was good to have a friend who was a known alchemist. They could get away with a good bit more than the normal person.

"You sly dog you!" Roy smirked as he looked around. The restaurant was almost empty anyways, but with this booth, there was no one remotely close to them.

Maes grinned goofily back at his roommate. "What can I say? I gotta learn to be sly if I wanna get information from people. That is exactly what Investigations is about!"

"So you decided to go for Investigations over Forensics?"

"Yeah. At least with Investigations I will be working with living people, mostly."

"I guess." Roy smiled, a warm, inviting smile that he dropped as soon as the waiter came by.

As they waited for their food to come, they mostly chatted amicably about their classes, and which professors they had next semester.

"Dr. Hibbert? Uh oh. I heard that he was even tougher than usual last semester, after that manure incident." Maes chuckled. "I feel for ya, bud. I'm sorry you have him next quarter. Just be careful."

Their food came shortly afterwards, and they both tucked in with a ravenous hunger, the conversation dropping to nothing for a while. After they finished, they sat and digested for a while, the conversation starting once again.

Roy leaned over the table towards Maes, even though there was no one within hearing distance of where they were. "So.. umm.. what do you usually do when you go out.. on a date.. with a guy?" He said in a low voice, his eyes darting around to make sure that no one was coming.

Maes smiled and put his arms behind his head, stretching then relaxing. "Well, it's really the same as when you go out with a girl. You just talk about whatever, get to know each other, you know?" He grinned wider. "But in this case, I live with you, so that isn't really an option. If I haven't figured you out by now, then I'm not going to!"

"I guess not." Roy replied. "Let's head on out. Maybe we can take a walk down by the library? There is that nice path in the woods. And if you get cold, I can just snap my fingers!"

"Ah, I knew there was a reason I liked you. You are handy to have around on cold nights!"

The alchemist harumphed. "Hmph. I am sure I am good for more than that." He winked and flagged down the waiter and took care of the check. "I have a little money saved up. Don't worry. You can get it next time.

Maes sat there, dumbfounded for a moment, trying to figure out what Roy had just said and done. 'I think I just proved myself wrong. I thought I had him figured out, but I guess not.' He thought to himself.

"Coming?" Roy had already started towards the door.

"Uh, yeah." Maes grabbed his coat and headed after him.

A short time later, they were walking on the train behind the library that lead through some tall wood before circling back around towards the other side of campus. It was a well known spot for young lovers to make out behind some of the trees. Maes knew that Roy must have been well aware of this. He was sure that the alchemist had taken some of his girlfriends into these woods.

"So, I am sure you have been here a few times before." Maes joked, playfully elbowing Roy in the ribs, even with his hand still protectivly in his pocket.

"Yeah. There have been some evenings when I was in the accompany of a fine lady, or two even." Roy grinned, that smooth, almost seductive grin that made Maes shiver.

"Is.. that why you brought me here? Because this is where your dates usually ended up?"

"Well, partially. I thought you may like it as well. You said you were from the east, and I know there arent alot of forests there."

"It is nice. I am glad I have such good company." Maes tried to hide the slight blush to his cheeks, hoping that Roy would chalk it up to the cold. The both slowed thier walk, so they could enjoy it. Unconciously, they started to drift towards each other as they continued, their elbows rubbing against one another, thier feet in perfect step- a byproduct of being a solider.

They were quiet for a while. It was comfortable. Nothing really needed to be said. Maes leaned his head on Roy's shoulder. Roy looked a little surprised at first, looking to see if anyone was around. He relaxed a moment later, Maes felt the tension let out under him.

"This is nice." Maes said. He spotted a bench at the edge of the trail ahead. "Let's sit for a second." Roy nodded. The metal bench was cold underneath them, but they tried not to think about it. Maes linked his arm with Roy's, scooting him closer so that thier bodies were barely touching.

A noise startled them, and they immediatly broke apart. "Oh, it's just a squirell." Roy said, pointing to where a fat, gray squirell was rustling the trees above them.

"Let's head back." Maes replied, eager to get to a safer location. They knew that it was dangerous to be out there, if anyone else had happened to walk by. It was a very nice walk, but both of them were too nervous to appreciate the rest of it as they quickly walked off the trail and back to the dorms, plenty of space seperating them.

"Man, that was a bit scary." Maes said, locking the door behind them. "I should have been more careful. I'm sorry. It was just so nice, being close to you."

"I'ts alright." Roy replied. "I didn't mind. I'm not really afraid of anyone for myself. I always have my gloves on. I am more worried about you."

"Don't worry about me. You know those knives I throw?"

"Yeah."

"I always have one on me."

Roy smirked. "Remind me never to cross you!"

"Likewise."

The alchemist yawned and stretched. "I think I am gonna head to bed." He said, starting to strip off his outer clothing. "I guess that ends our 'date', right?"

"Hmm.. aren't dates supposed to end with a goodnight kiss?"

Roy turned deep red. "I.. um.. guess so?"

"Hey, I don't want to force you into anything, Roy."

"No, it's okay. It is just one little kiss. No big deal, right?"

Maes grinned. "Right." He walked over to Roy's bed and sat next to him, too nervous to do anything for a moment. In a blink, he leaned over, gave Roy a quick kiss on the cheek, right next to his lips, then stood up and walked over to his bed. "Um, goodnight, Roy." He turned off the light.

Roy touched his cheek where he had just been kissed. Adrenalin rushed through his body. His heart was racing fast, and it had only been a speedy peck on the cheek. "Goodnight, Maes." He said, crawling under the sheets.

It took him hours until he was finally able to get to sleep.


	7. Rainy Days

Author: SeaweedOtter  
Title: Rainy Days (New Beginnings- Chapter 7)  
Theme & #: #03- House, #09- Siblings, #24- Pets and #52-Rain  
Genres: Angst, Romance  
Warnings: None, really. A Roy/Maes academy fic!  
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes  
Rating: PG  
Summary: The past can both hurt and heal at the same time.

Author's note: This has fake Roy and Maes back stories about their childhoods, and I think it makes a strong case for Maes as to why he wants so badly later in his life to become a family man.  
I didn't mean for this to cover 4 of my prompts, but it just worked out so well. I am not taking the cheap way out, I promise. This should be the only time I use 4 prompts.  
The chapter is a little shorter than usual, and I just couldn't find a better way to end it. Sorry.

**

Maes and Roy were very glad for the time they had together during the winter break. They went out to dinner almost every night, and during the evenings they took long, leisurely strolls- linking their hands together as they walked through the deserted pathways of the military college.

That is, until the rains came.

"I hate rain," Roy grumbled, his face locked into a pout. He poked idly at his warmed over oatmeal with his spoon, more interested in it as a plaything for his mind than as nourishment for his body. He looked out their singular window at the large drops that were falling at an angle, leaving their round imprint before gravity slid them towards the ground, three floors below.

"I know, you get all mopey every time it rains," Maes put a hand on the alchemist's shoulder, massaging it lightly. He could feel the knotted, tensed muscles cording under his touch, even through the thick blue fabric of his military issue jacket.

"I got it. Why don't we chat, and try to get this weather off our minds?" The bespectacled man asked. He thought for a moment, and then grinned goofily. "Why don't you tell me about your childhood? If we're going to be roommates… or possibly even more…" he blushed slightly after saying those words, "Then I guess we should know a little more about each other, right?"

Roy hesitated for a moment, a pained expression coming to his face before he put down his spoon and pushed the bowl of food away from him and sighed, resting his chin on his hands.

"There isn't much to say, really. I had a pretty boring childhood for the most part. If you haven't figured it out yet, both of my parents weren't from Amestris. My father had traveled to Xing when he was younger, and met a woman who he eventually married. Her family didn't like her marrying an outsider, so they came back here and started a family."

"My father was an alchemist, so he stayed pretty busy helping people around our little village. They would pay us in crops, or a meal at their place, or sometimes whatever little bit of money that they could afford. My mom was a homemaker, and I was a middle child, so I didn't get much attention. I learned to fend for myself and be strong at a young age."

"My dad would take me around the town when he was called on to use his alchemy. Even as a small child, I loved it, and I knew that I wanted to be just like him. Alchemy was the only way that I could stand out from my siblings. None of them wanted anything to do with it, and my mom hated the idea of her youngest son following in his dad's footsteps and doing that 'devil's work', as she called it."

"But still, I would practice in secret, in a little tool shed behind the house. I think my dad knew, but he never said anything. I think that was to protect both me and himself from the wrath of my mother. She was a small woman, but she packed a mean punch, both literally and figuratively. His specialty was earth alchemy, but I had always been fascinated by fire, and that is what I studied. If my mother had known that, I am sure she would have beaten the desire out of me."

Maes nodded and stayed quiet, his eyes focused intently on his roommate.

"During a big rainstorm one year, the river on the other side of town swelled. It wasn't affecting our house directly, but he wanted to help because many others in the village were being threatened by the rising waters. He tried to use alchemy to help block the river off, but he was swept away down the fast moving current. They… never found him."

Roy's face went ice cold, and Maes gasped, frowning slightly. "I'm… sorry, Roy. I didn't know. I promise I'll never make fun of you hating the rain any more."

A sad smile made its way onto Roy's face. "It's okay. You're right. You should know my past if we do start… dating… or whatever it is that guys do."

Maes put his hand on top of Roy's and gave it a little squeeze, smiling. "Let me tell you a little about my childhood. I'm afraid that there's less to tell. It wasn't very interesting." He sat down and scooted his chair close to Roy.

"I was an only child. My dad wasn't around, and my mom was pretty busy trying to provide for the both of us- so as I was growing up, I had a seemingly never ending series of pets. They kept me entertained, and I learned a lot about responsibility at a young age."

Roy wondered what Maes had meant when he said that his father 'wasn't around', but he didn't want to press, and Maes didn't seem like he was going to divulge any more information, so he said nothing and listened.

"I always loved to take things apart and learn how they worked. I used to take walks around the countryside where I lived, and in my travels, I would always pick things up- like broken pieces of machinery or twigs or rocks or whatever- and take them home and examine them. I guess I really liked Intelligence and Forensics years before I even knew what they were."

"A nerd from the start, eh?" Roy started, but an elbow to his ribs cut off anything further that he might have wanted to say.

"When my mom died, I was passed around to different members of her family for a few years, until I was old enough to take care of myself. One of my uncles- my mother's older brother- had just retired from the Amestrian military. He knew about my interests, and he was the one who suggested that I would do well in the military. So that's how I arrived here."

"Hmm. I guess we've both had our share of sadness in the past, huh?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, but we're roommates now, and we have the rest of our lives ahead of us," Maes replied with a grin. "So we have nothing but good times ahead- right, buddy?" Maes chuckled and clapped him hard on the back.

"Yep, only good times ahead," Roy replied. He thought about when he was younger, and his mom warned him about all of the atrocities that went on in the military- in an effort to scare him out of joining. And then there was the fact that if they did start a relationship, it was going to have to be hidden from the world. It was a risky proposition at best.

Even as he said it, he wasn't sure that he believed what he said.


	8. Memories Past

Author: SeaweedOtter  
Title: Memories Past (New Beginnings- Chapter 8)  
Genres: Angst, Romance  
Warnings: None, really. A Roy/Maes academy fic!  
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Thoughts of the present can lead to thoughts of the past

**

"What are you writing?"

Maes didn't respond to the question. Instead he leaned down close to his paper and wrapped an arm around it, like a grade schooler would protect a classmate from seeing a love note that was being written.

"Nothin'. Stop looking."

"But Maes," Roy whined, "Why would you want to hide what you are doing from me?" He was silent for a moment, then he went slightly pale and a look of horror came over his face. "You… aren't seeing someone else, are you? Is it a girl?"

For a brief moment, he left the paper unprotected to lean back and give his lover a kiss on the lips. "No, you overprotective dolt. I promise you that I'm not seeing anyone else. Now if you give me a couple of minutes I will finish up, and maybe, just maybe, if you are good, perhaps you can see later." The taller man went back to protecting whatever was written down in front of him.

Roy pouted slightly, but he did acquiesce. With a sigh, he stopped hovering behind Maes and went back to the other side of table, picked up and alchemy text, and started to read quietly. As soon as Roy was settled, Maes went back to scribbling something down, his face scrunched up in concentration.

Long after the alchemy text had ceased to hold any sort of interest to him, the alchemist kept making excuses to himself about why he needed to stay at the table and be close to his roommate. He stayed quiet and attempted to read a little bit more for a while, but it became painfully apparent that it wasn't going to be able to concentrate, so he whittled his time away daydreaming until it was time to head to his next class.

"I'll be back, Maes," Roy said, almost sadly, as he stood up, picked up his book bag, and headed towards the door. The taller man gave a nod and grunt, still deeply involved in whatever he was writing. Roy let out a low, slow breath and left, closing the door behind him.

"Finally!" Maes grumbled, sitting up from his leaning position. His back crackled in protest and his muscles ached from holding that position for so long. The long, lean man sat back and stretched, enjoying the feeling of movement, trying to bring circulation back to his tingling fingers. "I forgot how much hunching down hurt." He mused with a smile.

"Now… let's see…" He stroked his chin thoughtfully, amused for a brief moment at the tiny amount of scruff that had finally started to grow on the very tip of his almost pointed chin. He was going to be 19 soon, and it had taken him this long to finally start growing something that could almost be construed as a beard. He had already gone through the majority of his growth spurt about a year and a half before, and he was already right at 6 feet tall- about a half a head taller than most of his classmates.

He had always wanted a beard, because he figured that it would bring the ladies to him in droves. Though it seemed a bit ironic now. He was finally getting a beard in, or at least the beginnings of one, and he already had someone that he cared about- a lot.

And it wasn't a girl.

The more he thought about it, the more confused and unsure he became. Memories came flooding back of the men that he had been with before. The first time had been so strange for both of them. It had just kind of happened, and neither of them really knew what to do with it. Then he had been sent away to a military academy in the East.

At first Maes was mad that the military would take him away. But ironically, it also sparked a strange interest that had eventually led him to the military academy himself.

But not before he had met John.

John was not like anyone that he had ever known, Unlike Roger, who had been just as unsure and unaware as him, John had been in relationships before with both men and women, and he knew what people wanted, and what people needed. For a while, it was great. Maes had been very reluctant at first, but as they grew to know each other more, and care for one another, he still remembered it as some of the happiest times of his life.

And then it happened. He had caught John with someone else, and the only reason that he had is because they had been discovered making out under a tree and beaten to within couple of inches of their lives. Most people didn't take too kindly to a couple of men who were showing affection for one another.

That could have been him, Maes knew. He and John had been pretty discreet in their meetings and such, and to this day he never understood what caused John to do something so brazen and stupid, though he figured that alcohol probably had something to do with it. That had turned Maes off of both alcohol and men.

Until he met Roy Mustang.

He grunted in frustration and looked down at the paper, scribbled a couple of notes to the side, then cursed under his breath, crumpled the paper up, and tossed it towards the wastebasket. It fell short by a couple of inches, but he didn't feel like getting up- so he told himself he would get it later.

"Damnit," he muttered. "I hate this. I have all these thoughts in my head, all these things that I want to get out, but I just can't get them onto paper." He turned to a clean page in the notebook that was sitting next to him and tore out another page, and wrote "Fate" at the top of it in large, capitalized letters.

"It was fate that brought you to me…" Maes spoke out loud as he wrote the same words on the paper. "I have to believe that. Fate made me challenge all that I thought I knew, and all that I thought I understood. Fate me think that I could love again, after being hurt and scared and alone for what seemed like an eternity. Fate brought me to you."

Maes sighed and looked down at the paper, scowling at it- as if that would change what he had written. He grabbed the corner of the sheet and started to crumple it before pausing. From out of nowhere, an evil smile started to creep across his face, and he furiously started to write anew.

_____________________________________________________________

Later that evening, as they lay together in Roy's small bunk- clothes spread across the floor where they had been carelessly tossed earlier, Maes looked over at his softly snoring lover and smiled. His eyes moved over to the dresser, where he poem that he had been writing all day still sat, his attention drawn back to the alchemist when he made a little grunting noise in his sleep and curled on his side unconsciously spooning closer to his bespectacled roommate.

"Fate brought you to me," He said softly, running his fingers through the alchemist's raven colored hair. "I have to believe that. I don't know why yet, or what is going to happen, but I don't intend to let you go anytime soon. You're stuck with me, Roy Mustang,"

He stirred a little, seemingly almost roused to wake at hearing his name, but Maes gently held him until he settled back down, and soon joined him in a deep, restful slumber.


End file.
